Do you use a hairdryer or oven to keep your heating bills down? You're not alone

High heating bills have led some to turn to ovens and hairdryers as heating alternatives

October is here, and it's the month most of us start turning on the heating. Well, at least 46 per cent of us do, according to brand-new research into Britons' heating habits conducted by MyJobQuote.

The research also reveals that, with already high fuel costs rising every year, we are savvier than ever when it comes to insulating our properties in order to reduce our heating bills. Over half (53 per cent) have insulated their loft, and 42 per cent use draught excluders on doors.

However, increasing levels of fuel poverty also mean that some are turning to unusual, and even downright eccentric, alternatives to traditional heating. The more disturbing house heating methods the respondents admitted to included leaving the oven on with nothing in it (and the door open, presumably), boiling pans of hot water over the hob, and using multiple hairdryers to heat the room.

Commenting on the findings of the research, Lisa Evans, spokesperson for MyJob Quote, says, 'It may seem encouraging that so many Britons are being so creative when it comes to heating their house; however, some of these unusual methods are simply impractical, expensive and potentially even dangerous, and not anything we would recommend.'